York is the capital city of the largest county in England, Yorkshire, and lies on the main East Coast railway line between London and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Within its walls, on which you can still walk in many places, are many museums and places of interest which denote the history of the city.

If arriving by train you will arrive in a station originally built in 1839 with the present structure opened in 1877.

Attached to the station is the National Railway Museum, with free entry, the largest railway museum in the world with just under 300 rail vehicles on display.

Shopping

The main shopping area contains many individual shops as well as a lot of chain stores, where all tastes are catered for.

Visit the speciality shops in Stonegate and the Shambles to buy individual gifts in shops which specialize in stamp and coin collection, home-made chocolate and sweets, or bakers purveying traditionally prepared cakes and pies.

The Shambles was first mentioned in the Doomsday book and still contains some 14th and 15th century buildings where the upper stories overhang street level. There are daily markets beside this area.The Minister Cathedral

Attractions

The main touristic attractions are all within the walls.

They include the Minster, the Jorvik Centre, York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower.

The Minster is a fine Gothic cathedral, built where there was originally a wooden Christian Church in 627AD.

The word “Minster” denotes that it was formerly a centre for Christian learning, and the Bishop of York is considered to be the second most important position in the English Church.

Visit their website with tips on guided tours and what to see and do YorkMinister.org.

The Jorvik Centre is an underground experience in the centre of the city.

It is situated on a site where digging first began in 1976 and has found, so far, over 15,000 objects dating back to the time that the Vikings ruled the area.

You are transported in carriages through a reconstruction of what life was like in Viking Jorvik over 1,000 years ago with animated models and smells.

The Castle museum shows what life was like in Georgian and Victorian York.

Particularly interesting is Kirkgate which shows a Victorian street of shops and a school.

There is also the Debter’s Prison.

Clifford’s Tower

Outside the museum is Clifford’s Tower, all that is left of York Castle, originally built after William the Conqueror snatched the throne of England.

The tower has served as a prison and a royal mint and is set on top of a high mound of earth.

Chocolate

Chocolate making has for many years been part of York’s manufacturing industry with both Rowntrees ( with Kit-Kat, Smarties and Aero) and Terry’s (with Choc Oranges and All Gold) having their headquarters here.

The Chocolate Story, very near to The Shambles, is a tourist attraction that takes visitors through chocolate making from its beginnings to the present day.

Other exciting things in York

There are often exhibitions and fairs in Knavemire just outside the city walls, where horse racing is held between May and October, including the famous Ebor handicap.

Farmers markets are also held in the city centre on the last Friday of the month.

Ghost Walk and the Dungeon

A famous guided tour is the Ghost Walk where Victorian dressed guides will take you to visit various buildings around the town including the most haunted, at 35 Stonegate, a building over 700 years old.

Translate (Google translated – English is the default language)

Affiliate Disclosure

When you book hotels, tickets or tours from allexciting.com we get a little commission.
Thanks to that we can continue working with the site.
If you find allexciting.com useful we are very thankful for your support.

Responsibility of letter

We will always do our best to always collect and submit correct information, and strive to give the best service as possible to you.

But we shall not be responsible for possible written errors in AllExciting.Com, or changes that may occur in the programmes of events, or otherwise.
See organizers’ websites for any updated information before ordering your journey.